Automatic reshuttling apparatus for looms.



W. A. & E. MATHER.

AUTOMATIC RESHUTTLING APPARATUS FOR LOOMS.

APPLICATION FILED 001'. 25, 1909.

Patented Dec. 12, 19111 I I 1 .251? era Z0399 Q I Mi l-km W. Mai/Z67 W I .27 ma flame? w. %.@%M/, 1 I in? COLUMBIA PLANOGRAPM co.. WASHINGTON. D. c.

APPLIOATIOH FILED OUT- 25, 1909.

Patented Dec. 12,1911.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

COLUMBIA PLANOGRAPH Kin-,WASHINOTON. D. C.

w. A. & B. MATHER.

AUTOMATIC RESHUTTLING APPARATUS FOR LOOMS. APPLICATION Hum 001" 25, 1909 Patented Dec. 12, 1911.

4 SHEETS SHEET 3.

J72 veJzZor s COLUMBIA PLANOGRAFH c0., WASHINGTON, 01 c.

W. A. & E. MATHBR. AUTOMATIC RESHUTTLING APPARATUS FOR Looms.

APPLIGATION FILBD'0O'1H25, 1909.

Patented Dec. 1 2, 1911.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 4.

jnuenzay g tle changing motions in age or exhaustion of the weft, the weft fork UNITED sTATEs PATENT OFFICE.

- WILLIAM ALBERT MATHER AND .EMMA MA'II-IER, or MANCHESTER, ENGLAND.

AUTOMATIC RESI-IUTTLING APPARATUS FOR LOOMS.

King of Great Britain and Ireland, and

residents of Manchester, in the county of Lancaster and Kingdom of Great Britain, have invented certain new anduseful Improvements in Automatic Reshuttling Apparatus for Looms, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to the kind of shutwhich on the breakor a cop feeler actuates mechanism at one end of the slay, by means of which other mechanism at the other end of the slay is put into action and retains the detachable front of the shuttlebox at the breast beam for the reception of a fresh shuttle from the magazine while the slay moves back and the spent shuttle is picked and diverted out of the loom, and at the next beating up of the slay the front of the shuttle box is connected again to the slay and carried back with the fresh shuttle in the box.

The invention consists in the hereinafter described improvements in this kind of shuttle change motion and the details thereof,

the object of the improvements being to simplify the mechanism and make it readily attachable to existing looms.

On the drawings appended hereunto Figure 1 shows a front elevation and Fig. 2 a plan of the change motion at the weft fork side of the loom and Figs. 3 and 4 similar views ofthe motion at the opposite side of the loom, Fig. 5 a cross section of the slay at the weft fork end, as'seen from the left Fig. 6 is a transverse sectional View of the parts at the shuttle changing end, with the parts in the positions they occupy when the change motion has just come into action, and Fig. 7 is a similar end view with these parts in the positions they occupy during the change of the shuttle. 1

At the right hand end of the loom, the weft fork 1 is mounted on a slide, preferably formed of two bars 2 and 3, which slide in a guide 1 fixed on the breast beam. The bar 3 has a collar 5 formed or fixed on it, between which and the guide 1 a helical spring 6 surrounding the bar 3 is placed. In the collar 5 a pin is fixed which engages into the forked end of a lever 7 fulcrumed in a Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed October 25, 1909.

Patented Dec. 12, 1911.

Serial No. 524,525.

bracket 8 on the breast beam and connected at its other end by a link 7, to the pawl 9, for retaining the taking up ratchet wheel 10 -ofthe loom as usual. Instead of lever and link, a cord passing over a guide pulley or any other suitable means for connecting the weft fork to the pawl may be used. The pawl is formed with a lateral projection 13, against which the finger 11 fixed on the shaft 12 rests. The pawl 9 turns loosely on this shaft. When the shuttle runs into the right hand box with the weft broken or absent, the weft fork is pulled forward in the usual manner by the hammer, and the upper end of the lever 7 is moved forward, whereby the lower end is swung backward and the pawl 9 is lifted by the link out of engagement with the ratchet wheel, and the taking up motion is stopped for two picks. At the same time the projection 13 on the pawl turns the finger 11 and shaft 12 forward in the direction of the arrow shown on Fig. 5. WVhen the hammer releases the weft fork, the spring 6 returns it to its normal position and the pawl 9 engages again into the ratchet wheel 10. The shuttle may be provided'with a cop feeler of any suitable known kind, which feeler when the weft is woven off and the slay beats up, encounters a finger on a bellcrank 1 1, an opening being provided in the shuttle box front 15 and the shuttle for this finger to pass through. cop feeler shown in applicants British Patent No. 22,497 of Oct. 12, 1907. The bellcrank'is mounted on a bracket on the breast beam, and itshorizontal end formed as a catch, which latches over a horizontal arm 16 turning on apivot on the breast beam and formed with a downward continuation 16 through which a screw 17 is adjustably threaded. The head of this screw is oppositethe finger 11 on the shaft 12, and when the feeler in the shuttle encounters the finger onthe bellcrank 11 on the beating up of the slay, front and thelatch lifted off the arm 16. A spring 17 a then pulls this lever forward, and'the screw 17 turns the finger 11 and shaft 12' forward. The arm 16 .is connected to the slay bottom 18 by a pair of links 18 of such length that when the slay is in its backmost position the arm 16 is pulled back so far that the latch on the bellcrank 1 1 can One form of this finger is pushed toward the pass behind it andv lock it again in position i while during the forward movement of the slay the links are slack.

The turning of the shaft 12 causes the front of the shuttlebox at the opposite end of the slay to be retained during the backward beat of the slay and turned against the breast beam for the reception of a fresh shuttle in the following manner. To the front of the slay bottom 18 an open hanger 19 is bolted and has pivots 19 fixed in it, on which the arms 20, 21 carrying the detachable partial shuttle .box front 22 can rock. At the top the arms are connected by the partial box front 22 and a curved plate 23, the whole being preferably formed in one piece. A spring 24 is connected at one end to a bracket 25 fixed to the bottom of the hanger 19, and at the other end to a projection 26 on the plate 23. This spring during the weaving pulls the arms 20, 21 and movable part 22 toward the slay and holds the movable part 22 of the shuttlebox front in line with the fixed portions 27 and 28 of the front. A blade spring 29 is preferably attached to the underside of the slay bottom and corrugated at its free end, and a bracket 30 or a pin fixed to the arm 21 engages into the hollow of the spring when the front is closed and assists the spring 24 to hold it in its closed position.

When the shaft 12 is turned forward on the failure of the weft in the manner hereinbefore described, a forked arm 31 fixed on the shaft 12 is turned up and lifts a link 32 fulcrumed in a bracket 33 also fixed to the loom side 34 into the positions shown in Figs. 3, 4 and 6. At the end of the link a pin 35 is fixed in it, which passes behind the bracket 30 fixed to the arm 21 carrying the box front, and as the slay moves back, retains the front 22 so that it is pulled away from the slay; the Figs. 3, 4 and 6 showing the front slightly pulled away. As the projec t-ion 26 on the box front plate to which the spring 24 is attached at its upper end is retained in this manner, while the bottom bracket 25 moves back with the slay, the spring is pulled over toward the front, and further stretched, till its center line has passed beyond the pivots 19 supporting the box front arms, when it contracts and pulls the box front over till the curved plate 23 rests against a leather buffer on the breast beam and the box front 22 is behind the magazine, as shown in Fig. 7.

The magazine consists of two slot-ted uprights 36, 37, in which the tips of the shuttles are guided, and which may be inclosed in an outer casing open at the back. The shuttles are kept up by two three-armed levers 38, 39, turning on pivots fixed in the uprights and kept in their positions by blade springs 40, 41, and having extensions 42, which as the box front carrier is pulled over against the breast beam are pushed back by the curved back 23 of the same, whereby the three-armed levers are turned so as to allow the lowest shuttle in the magazine to drop behind the box front 22, upon the magazine bottom 36*, the other shuttles being held up by the upper arms of the three-armed levers passing under the ends of the second shuttle. When the slay makes its next forward beat, the curved back 23 of the box front moves upward along its rest and partly turns the box front toward the slay. On the further forward movement of the slay a lateral projection 43 (Fig. 3) on the arm 21 carrying the box front encounters the head of the adjustable screw 44 screwed into the bracket 33 and provided with a lock nut. The box front carrier is thereby further turned toward the slay until the spring 24 has passed beyond the pivots on which the carrier is fulcrumed, and the spring then pulls the box front with the shuttle carried by it into the position the box front occupies while weaving, the link 32 and arm 31 having meanwhile dropped down into the positions shown in Fig. 7 as soon as the finger 11 has been released.

lVhile the slay beats back between the two forward beats by which the box front is opened and closed again, the spent shuttle is picked from the right side of the slay to the left side and on entering the left hand shuttle box is diverted out of the loom. For this purpose a slot is formed in the back of the box filled by a tongue 45, which is fixed upon a vertical shaft 47, turning on a suitable bracket 48 fixed to the back of the slay bottom 18 at its outer end. A curved spring blade 46 fixed to the back of the shuttle box presses the tongue back and acts as a back swell. At the bottom end the shaft 47 has an arm 49 fixed to it, the end of which is connected by links 50, 51, to the arm 21 of the box front carrier; these links are of such length that the carrier can move forward for a certain distance before they become taut so that the shaft 47 is only turned by the links and arm 49, when the box front is pulled by the spring 24 against the breast beam. The tongue is then turned with its outer end against the fixed part 28 of the shuttle box front, and as the shuttle picked from the other end enters the box, it is deflected to the back through the slot in the back of the box into a chute 52 fixed to the back of the slay bottom and drops into a receptacle placed at theside of the loom. When the box front is returned to the slay in the manner before described, the spring 46 turns the tongue 45 and arm 49 back to their starting positions. Tongues for cliverting the spent shuttle out of the loom have been used before, and the arrangement of such tongues does not by itself form part of this invention. When the apparatus is applied to underpiok looms, the links 50, 51

are cranked or replaced by an equivalent connection, to pass around the race of the picking stick.

We claim as our invention 1. In a selfacting reshuttling loom the combination with the loom slay of a hanger fixed thereto and provided with pivots at about the middle of its sides, arms adapted to rock on said pivots, a movable partial shuttlebox front carried by said arms, a tension spring connected at one end to said shuttlebox front and at the other end of the bottom part of the hanger, the points of attachment being in such a position relatively to the pivots, that the spring is behind the pivots when the movable shuttlebox front is in its normal closed position on the slay and in front of them when it is pulled over to the breast beam of the loom, an arm pivoted on the loom frame and provided with a catch adapted when lifted to seize said movable shuttlebox front when the slay beats up and retain it while the slay moves back, and means located at the opposite side of the loom and put into action by the failure of the weft, adapted to lift said arm and catch.

2. In a selfacting reshuttling loom the combination with the loom slay of a shuttlebox front at one end of the slay having fixed end parts and a movable middle part, arms supporting said movable part and a curved plate attached to the same and the arms, a hanger fixed to the slay and pivots in the hanger on which said arms can rock, a spring attached to said movable part and the hanger adapted to'pull said part in either direction, a catch pivoted to the loom frame and adapted to engage said movable part when in its forward position and retain it while the slay moves back, an abutment against which the said curved plate rests when the movable shuttlebox front has been pulled forward by the spring, and means located at the opposite side of the loom and put into action on the failure of the weft, adapted to lift said catch to engage said movable part, and a stop fixed to the loom frame adapted to encounter one of the arms carrying the movable part at the next forward beat of the slay and turn the said part toward the slay, said spring completing the movement.

3. A self acting reshuttling loom comprising in combination, a swinging. loom slay provided with a hanger, a shuttle box front structure pivotally mounted on said hanger, a spring connected with the hanger and front structure at points on opposite sides of the pivotal mounting of said structure and arranged to complete swinging movement of the front structure toward or from the slay, a detent for retaining and preventing movement of the front structure with the slay to initiate movement of said front structure to be completed by the spring, and means acting upon exhaustion or breakageof the weft for actuating said detentto engage the same with said structure.

4. A self acting reshuttling loom comprising in combination, a swinging loom slay provided with a hanger, a shuttle box front structure pivotally mounted on said hanger,

a spring connected with the hanger and front structure at points on opposite sides of the pivotal mountings and with said points of connection so disposed that. the spring will completemovement of the front structure toward or away fromrthe slay, a detent for engaging said front structure to prevent movement thereof with the slay and initiate movement of said structure to be completed by the spring in a direction away from said slay, means actuated upon exhaustion or breakage of the weft for engaging said detent with said front structure, and a stop for initiating movement of the front structure to be completed by the spring in a direction toward said slay.

5. A self acting re-shuttling loom comprising in combination, a breast beam, a swinging slay provided with a hanger, a shuttle box. front structure pivotally mounted on said hanger, and provided with a curved cam like element for engagement with the breast beam and serving upon movement of the hanger to alter the position of the front structure to engage a new shuttle, a spring connected with said front structure to complete movement thereof toward or from the slay, upon movement of the hanger, a detent for initiating movement of the front structure away from the slay, and means acting upon exhaustion or breakage of the weft for engaging said detent with said structure.

'6. A self acting re-shuttling loo-m comprising in combination, a breast beam provided with upright guides for holding the tips of superposed supply shuttles, rotata ble means supporting the supply shuttles in said guides by engagement with the lowermost shuttles thereof and serving when rotated to release the lowermost shuttle and engage and hold the next upper shuttle, a shuttle box front structure pivotally mounted on said slay for transferring the supply shuttles to the slay, means for shifting the position of said front structure from the slay to the breast beam for operating said rotatable means to release a shuttle into a transferring position, and mechanism operated by exhaustion or breakage of the weft for initiating movement of said front structure by said first named means.

7. A self acting reshuttling loom comprising in combination, a swinging slay provided with a shuttle box, a shuttle box front structure pivotally mounted on said slay, a movable shunting back for said box, means for shifting said front structure to transfer a new shuttle, mechanism actuated upon exhaustion or breakage of the weft for initiating movement of said front structure by said means, and a device operated upon shifting movement of said front structure for moving said back into a shunting position to divert and discharge the spent shuttle from the box.

8. A self acting re-shuttling loom comprising in combination, a swinging slay provided with a shuttle boX front structure pivotally mounted thereon, a spring for completing movement of said structure toward or away from said slay, a take up ratchet wheel, a spring controlled weft fork adapted to operate upon exhaustion or breakage of the weft, a pawl operated by said fork and engaging said ratchet Wheel, a shaft operated by movement of said pawl, and a detent operated by said shaft for re straining movement of said front structure to initiate operation thereof by said spring.

9. A self acting re-shuttling loom comprising in combination, a swinging loom slay provided with a shuttle front structure pivotally mounted thereon, a spring connected to operate said structure and complete movement thereof with respect to said slay and toward or away therefrom, and mechanism operated upon breakage or exhaustion of the weft for initiating move ment of said front structure to enable completion of such movement by said spring.

In testimony whereof we have hereto set our signatures in the presence of two witnesses.

WILLIAM ALBERT MATHER. EMMA MATHER. \Vitnesses:

CARL BoLLii, WILLIAM J ONES.

Copies of this natent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. G. 

